Gems in the Wastes (Exalted/Warhammer Fantasy/CK2)

Hmmm. Considering removing Innocent Songbird from the Commander and putting her on either the Hydra or the Sorceress. Realistically, Chinasa and the army are likely more than enough for the commander and his retinue unless he's truly terrifyingly badass...but while all our analysis says he's not any great shakes as a leader, I worry he's personally dangerous (a worry people from Creation would definitely have, perhaps even more so). Hmmm.

EDIT: And switched her to the Sorceress. That feels better.
 
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Turn 3.5 (Part 3) Vote Begins
Alright, enough time has passed for discussion, so it's time to get to some voting! We're going to be going REALLY quick with this one so that I can get started on rolls and the like. Prepare yourselves, for the vote is now open, and

The Vote will end in 12 hours from now (July 3rd at 10 AM PST)
 
Okay, slightly revised version of this as discussed above.

[X] Plan Willing To Listen
-[X] Yes, we shall revise our plan
-[X][Infiltrator Watch] Milosen (Martial +9, Intrigue +13, Combat +6, Might 3)
-[X][Ground Officer] Chinasa (Martial +8, Combat +10, Might 3)
-[X][Commander] General Troops (Infantry)(Size 4, Quality 1, Might 0)(Requires agreeing to the above plan) + Chinasa as Commander
-[X][Sorceress] Rising Dawn (Hero)(Martial +9 -> +12, Combat +8 -> +11, Might 4)
-[X][Sorceress] Innocent Songbird (Hero)(Martial +5, Combat +10, Might 3)
-[X][Hydra] Eidolons (Infantry)(Size 5, Quality 1, Might 1)
-[X][Hydra] Royal Guard (Archers)(Size 2, Quality 2, Might 0 -> 1)(Led by Flaris)
-[X][Executioners] Sondok (Hero)(Martial +10, Combat +23, Might 3, Best of 2)
-[X][Executioners] Fumnanya (Sorcerer)(Martial +7, Learning +5, Combat +6, Might 3)
--[X] Using Spell: Death of Obsidian Butterflies (DC 30; Hits Large Groups)
-[X][Cavalry] Blood Apes (Monsters)(Size 2, Quality 0, Might 2)
 
Revamped hero analysis, taking into account our new Exalted once they come into their own, showing how many we have who provide a +7 or better in each area:

Total Heroes: 8

Martial: 4 (+12C, +12, +10C, +8)
Diplomacy: 2 (+10, +7)
Stewardship: 5 (+9, +8C, +8, +8, +8)
Intrigue: 4 (+10, +9C, +8, +7C)
Piety: 4 (+12, +12, +10, +7C)
Learning: 3 (+8, +7, +7)
Combat: 5 (+13C, +12, +11C, +11, +9C)

Sorcerers: 2 (+6, +7)

Cs indicate a potentially relevant charm. On turns when she gets her -10, Rising Dawn is also effectively something like at least +14 on everything, often much higher.

@Critian Caceorte while doing this analysis, I ran into a typo on Rising Dawn. She is listed with a 14 Stewardship but only a +8 bonus, that should be a +9.
 
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[X] Plan Willing To Listen

I had been thinking about suggesting the general groups in the field last vote, but before I could remember to post it was too late. I am vindicated in my own mind.
 
BTW how many dark elves are there? Like in general? A short wiki walk and I came up with an estimate of anywhere between 700K to 1m, that about right?
 
BTW how many dark elves are there? Like in general? A short wiki walk and I came up with an estimate of anywhere between 700K to 1m, that about right?
It's undoubtedly less than then the number of slaves they have by a notable amount, but I wouldn't be surprised if those numbers were correct. Not like a long-lived race is going to have a ton of kids at any given moment.
 
It's undoubtedly less than then the number of slaves they have by a notable amount, but I wouldn't be surprised if those numbers were correct. Not like a long-lived race is going to have a ton of kids at any given moment.

It should be noted that all numbers in canon Warhammer tend to undercount non-Skaven, Non-Greenskin non-Chaos peoples. The populations they give to empire cities should not be able to produce the armies they use so you might want to bump those numbers up for this quest
 
It should be noted that all numbers in canon Warhammer tend to undercount non-Skaven, Non-Greenskin non-Chaos peoples. The populations they give to empire cities should not be able to produce the armies they use so you might want to bump those numbers up for this quest
Well, as far as I understand it all of the dark elves are some manner of warrior so having a low population doesn't mean they could have a large percentage of them as soldiers in the army.

Dark elves in particular really more on slave labor so having a low population base doesn't inherently bar huge armies.
 
Just realized that for the current army rules for mini-turns, there's no system for determining priority or initiative. In the interest of reducing dice rolls where we don't need them, I'm leaning towards one of two systems: Either
A) We just go by vote order to determine what happens first, which can get a bit metagame-y with the votes, or
B) We do a Warhammer and have Sorcerers go first, then other Ranged units, then the rest.

Any thoughts about either of these?
 
Just realized that for the current army rules for mini-turns, there's no system for determining priority or initiative. In the interest of reducing dice rolls where we don't need them, I'm leaning towards one of two systems: Either
A) We just go by vote order to determine what happens first, which can get a bit metagame-y with the votes, or
B) We do a Warhammer and have Sorcerers go first, then other Ranged units, then the rest.

Any thoughts about either of these?

Second option makes the most narrative sense and produces the most dramatic battles so I'm for it.
 
Prototype Spellcasting Rules
Spellcasting is the practice of magicians manipulating the Essence around them in order to work temporary, but potent, miracles. It requires complete concentration, and can be both interrupted or distorted, but when it works, its results are amazing.

The act of spellcasting is the same between both Sorcery and Wind Magic: The character rolls 1d100, adding their Learning Stat Bonus and any other relevant modifiers, and tries to meet or exceed a given spell DC. If they fail (and they don't critically fail), they can try again next turn with a stacking -10 DC modifier as the partially-formed magic gets its gaps filled in. If you fail a given spell 2 times and continue casting, you will reduce the DC by 20 instead, and so on. Alternatively, they can choose to give up on casting altogether (forgoing the DC reduction) or instead swap to casting another spell of the same variety (Sorcery, Exalted Necromancy, A Specific Wind, etc.) which retains the DC reduction. A wielder of Dhar/Dark Magic can ALWAYS swap a normal spell into a Dhar spell for the DC reduction, but not the reverse.

Rituals, being the subject of long turns and not mini-turns, do not get this benefit unless they have a bare failure (within 10 points of succeeding).

Spells can be interrupted by counterspelling when they are being in the process of being cast. To do so, the counterspeller must be within a close enough range of the caster, and rolls their own 1d100+Learning Bonus+Other Modifiers. If the counterspeller knows the spell the attacker is using, then they gain a +20 bonus to their roll. If they are of an entirely different casting type as the sorcerer, they instead suffer -20 to their efforts. On a success, the spell is broken, and the sorcerer must start over from the beginning.

Spells that have already been cast and have a lingering effect can, to a degree, be distorted. The process of distortion is slow but universal: There are no penalties for casters of different casting types to distort each other's work. Indeed, this is a specialty of Dhar, which gains a bonus of +20 to distorting spells. When distorting a spell, the caster must roll (1d100 + Learning Bonus - The original spell's DC) against a DC of 50. Like with spellcasting, failing the first time provides a -10 DC reduction which stacks, but caps out at -30. If you cannot distort a spell at that point, you cannot attempt to do so again, it is just too difficult for you.

When distorted, a spell is not fully cancelled out, it just becomes weaker, stranger, or altogether lesser than it was before. Corrupted Words might allow a brief period of time where the forbidden words can be spoken in a poetic manner, or Invulnerable Skin of Bronze can temporarily weigh down the user and slow their movement. In other words, distortion is best used to hamper an enemy's benefits at the right time, rather than trying to remove them entirely.

However, the systems for learning magic, and dictating the DCs of it, are different under both systems. You do not know in-story how the process for Wind Magic is done, but for Sorcery, non-ritual spells use an initial DC of (Motes Used * (Willpower Used + 1)). If a character is initiated into a Circle of Sorcery higher than the spell they are using, the DC is reduced by 10 per higher circle. Certain circumstances can lower this DC further, like trying to cast Flight of the Brilliant Raptor in an area laden with Fire Essence or wielding a specific artifact.

Ritual Spells can only be done in normal turns, and have their own unique DCs (read: I eyeball it, sorry.)

Wind Magic's mechanics will need to be uncovered in-story, but it has its benefits and drawbacks. In the interest of disclosure, I included Dhar's benefits already, but am keeping its drawbacks secret until they pop up in the story. Needless to say, there are some serious drawbacks to using the magic of Chaos.
 
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Turn 3.5 (Phase 3) Vote Closes
The vote is closed, I'll get started on rolls in a few minutes.
Scheduled vote count started by Critian Caceorte on Jul 4, 2024 at 12:47 AM, finished with 19 posts and 7 votes.

  • [X] Plan Willing To Listen
    -[X] Yes, we shall revise our plan
    -[X][Infiltrator Watch] Milosen (Martial +9, Intrigue +13, Combat +6, Might 3)
    -[X][Ground Officer] Chinasa (Martial +8, Combat +10, Might 3)
    -[X][Commander] General Troops (Infantry)(Size 4, Quality 1, Might 0)(Requires agreeing to the above plan) + Chinasa as Commander
    -[X][Sorceress] Rising Dawn (Hero)(Martial +9 -> +12, Combat +8 -> +11, Might 4)
    -[X][Sorceress] Innocent Songbird (Hero)(Martial +5, Combat +10, Might 3)
    -[X][Hydra] Eidolons (Infantry)(Size 5, Quality 1, Might 1)
    -[X][Hydra] Royal Guard (Archers)(Size 2, Quality 2, Might 0 -> 1)(Led by Flaris)
    -[X][Executioners] Sondok (Hero)(Martial +10, Combat +23, Might 3, Best of 2)
    -[X][Executioners] Fumnanya (Sorcerer)(Martial +7, Learning +5, Combat +6, Might 3)
    --[X] Using Spell: Death of Obsidian Butterflies (DC 30; Hits Large Groups)
    -[X][Cavalry] Blood Apes (Monsters)(Size 2, Quality 0, Might 2)
 
Alright, first round of combat. This post will contain the Sorcery rolls this turn.

Fumnanya will be going first, rolling to cast Death of Obsidian Butterflies on the Executioners. If she succeeds, it will be treated as if Fumnanya's Size was 2 and inflict a Wound onto them (1/2 necessary to bring them down a Size). Let's see if this works!

Spellcasting DC 30
Roll Bonus: 5 (Fumnanya's Learning) = +5
Roll: 87 + 5 = 92, Notable Success! Not only are the Executioners wounded, but they are trapped inside of a minefield of glass shards! If they want to leave this region, they have to dedicate an entire turn to do so, or reduce their Quality by 1 to make a less organized and slow march.

Next is the enemy sorceress. She is going to cast Beast Master, one of the most difficult Ghur spells, in order to control the Hydra this battle. If she fails, the Hydra will roll randomly for its targets unless attacked, which can include Dark Elf army units.

Spellcasting DC 70
Roll Bonus: 10 (Sorceress Learning + Casting a Spell) - 5 (Poison) = +5
Roll: 59 + 5 = 64, Bare Failure! Due to how close she was at succeeding, the DC of her next attempt at the spell is reduced by 20 instead of 10.
Critian Caceorte threw 1 100-faced dice. Reason: Fumnanya's Spell Total: 87
87 87
Critian Caceorte threw 1 100-faced dice. Reason: Beast Master Spell Total: 59
59 59
 
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Next is the enemy sorceress. She is going to cast Beast Master, one of the most difficult Ghur spells, in order to control the Hydra this battle. If she fails, the Hydra will roll randomly for its targets unless attacked, which can include Dark Elf army units.

Well, bad news, next up we attack the hydra with our archers, though the Eidolons should be in the way of it actually getting to them, so they probably get attacked rather than the archers this turn. Good news is that the sorceress didn't get a real spell off before our people got to attack her. Well, and Fumnanya doing awesome with Obsidian Butterflies, of course.
 
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